AIRTEL PAYMENTS BANK LEADERSHIP PROFILES

Mr. Anubrata Biswas is the MD & CEO of Airtel Payments Bank and an industry stalwart with over two decades of experience in banking and financial services sector.

In his current role he has built a sustainable model for India’s first Payments Bank. Airtel Payments Bank today is a significant player in India’s financial ecosystem, large & profitable, with over 56 Mn users, annualized revenues of over INR 12,910 Mn & over INR 2,015 Bn of annual Gross Merchandise Value. The Bank today is operating the largest banking network in the world, touching 1 in 5 Indian villages. It is also India’s largest micro-cash player and fastest growing digital banking proposition.

Mr. Biswas started his banking career with ICICI bank in 2001. He led several national and overseas assignments, including building the ICICI Bank brand in the USA and the Middle East, establishing retail banking for ICICI Bank in London and heading the international retail business for ICICI Bank including NRI business and remittances. In his last assignment with ICICI Bank Ltd, he worked as the Retail Business Head for South India.

Mr. Biswas serves on leading industry bodies. He is a member of the FICCI National Committee on Banking, CII National Committee on Financial Inclusion and Fintech and CII National Committee on Banking for FY 22.  He was the Co-Chair of the CII Task Force on Fintech for FY 21. In the past, he has also been a member of the EFMA Retail Banking Advisory Council, Europe.

Mr. Biswas is an alumnus of Jadavpur University and has completed his degree in Business Administration (PGDBM) from IIM, Ahmedabad.

Ganesh is the Chief Operating Officer for Airtel Payments Bank.

He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Bank.

During the bank’s journey, Ganesh has been a key guiding force and a core member who has driven multiple initiatives to further the bank’s mission and vision.

Ganesh brings in close to 22 years of rich experience. Prior to joining the bank, Ganesh was  working with Bharti Airtel leading the Central Distribution team as Executive Vice President for over five years.  In the past, he has also served as the Chief Operating Officer for Karnataka circle, the largest and most profitable state for Airtel.

Ganesh started his career with Hindustan Unilever and spent close to 12 years in HUL across different roles in Marketing and Sales.

Ganesh completed his B tech from IIT Kharagpur and is a Management Graduate from S P Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR).

Anuj Bansal is the Chief Financial Officer for Airtel Payments Bank.

 He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Bank. In this role, Anuj leads the overall financial strategy, including corporate financial planning, budgeting, investor relations, supply chain, and treasury management at the Bank.

Anuj has over 23 years of progressive experience in financial services and other sectors such as the auto sector. His areas of expertise include business planning, investor relations, strategy formulation, global financial operations, finance & accounting management, and treasury Management. He has been recognised amongst the ‘Top 100 finance professionals’ across India by CFO India in December 2020.

 Anuj is a Chartered Accountant and an alumnus of Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University, from where he acquired his Bachelor of Commerce Degree.

Shruti Thakral is the Chief Human Resources Officer for Airtel Payments Bank.

She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Bank.

As the CHRO of the bank, Shruti empowers employees across the country to achieve the bank’s mission and pursue its vision. In her role, she focuses on making the bank an exceptional place for all bankers to work, and ensures that the company is creating a culture that attracts and inspires the world’s most passionate talent.

Additionally, in her role as the Chief Internal Vigilance Officer,  she is responsible for formulating policies to curb any corruption, malpractice, or misconduct on the part of employees and to deal with administrative authority/Police/SFIO and regulators.

Shruti has been a long standing veteran of Airtel, driving Talent Management, Executive Leadership and Competencies. She has equally demonstrated able business partnership in her last role with Marketing & CE of Airtel, bringing in rigour in succession planning, leadership development and learning agendas. Finally, Shruti comes with well-honed capability to drive national agendas, having driven impactful programs in Airtel such as One Airtel Careers, Employee Value Propositions and its Campus program.

Gouresh is the Chief Compliance Office for Airtel Payments Bank.

He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Bank.

As the Chief Compliance Officer, Gouresh acts as a strong interface between the bank and regulatory authorities. He also plays a lynchpin role in driving the culture of compliance across the bank.

Gouresh is a seasoned banker with over thirty-six years of experience of working with the Reserve Bank of India in major areas of central banking.

During the course of a noteworthy career, Gouresh has led several initiatives and worked extensively in the areas of Credit Risk, Forex Reserve Management, Banking Supervision, and Currency & Reserve Management. In his previous role before joining us at the bank, Gouresh was working with RBI in the Department of Banking Supervision (DBS) wherein he was responsible for complete oversight and functioning of two foreign banks.

Gouresh holds a Master’s in Law from Mumbai University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Banking and Finance from Welingkar Institute.

Pinak Chakraborty is the Chief Information Officer for Airtel Payments Bank.

At the bank, he is responsible for  strategy and plans related to product designing and delivery and also ensure operational stability of the products and IT systems . In addition to this, he is also responsible to bring in strong technical governance and world class systems to help take bank to its next phase of growth.  

Pinak brings in over two decades of experience in engineering leadership and applied research in building software products that provide a frictionless, responsive and personalised experience to end users. He has fourteen patents granted by the US Patent Office in the areas of application of machine learning and natural language processing. Pinak did his B.E in Computer Science and Engineering from NIT, Silchar and completed a post graduate certificate from IIIT-Hyderabad. He has also attended a General Management Programme from IIM-Calcutta. 

Pradeep Kumar Rangi is the Chief Risk Officer for Airtel Payments Bank.

He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Bank.

At the bank, he's spearheading strategic risk management by integrating risk assessment and creating mitigation plans for all the potential risk areas.

Pradeep has over 17 years of high calibre international work experience with Financial Services and Commodities firms in India and globally. Pradeep is a qualified Chartered Accountant, all India rank holder, and a Certified Information Systems Auditor from ISACA.

Deepak Ahuja is the Chief Internal Auditor for Airtel Payments Bank. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Bank.

In his current role, he guides the Bank by gauging adequacy and effectiveness of the governance, risk management and controls to mitigate risks associated with Business and IT processes.

 Deepak brings with him over 19 years of extensive Banking experience spanning across audits, risk management, regulatory compliance, banking operations, branch banking, customer acquisitions and process migrations. During his career, he has been associated with various Indian and International Banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland, IndusInd Bank, and others.

Prasad heads the Corporate business & alliances vertical for Airtel Payments Bank.

He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Bank.

Prasad contributes in furthering the bank’s vision by forging relationships and nurturing tie-ups & partnerships with large corporates and institutions etc. He leads verticals like Cash Drop, Value-chains, dairies, strategic and government alliances.

Prasad brings in over 25 years of rich experience in Business Development, Strategic Planning, and Distribution Management. Prasad joined us from Airtel, wherein he held various leadership roles across businesses and locations. In his last stint before joining the bank, Prasad was serving as the Vice President & Business Head for Airtel, Mumbai.

In the past, Prasad has also worked with Radiant Electronics and Koskhika Telecom.

Prasad completed his Bachelors in Science from Utkal University and is a management graduate from KIIT School of Management.

Shilpi is the Chief Marketing Officer of Airtel Payments Banks. She leads the marketing and corporate communication function for the bank.

She is responsible for planning, developing, implementing, and monitoring the overall business marketing strategy. Shilpi also overlooks market research, pricing, product marketing, marketing communications, advertising and public relations.

Shilpi is a member of the Executive Committee of the Bank.

Shilpi brings over 19 years of progressive experience in Brand Management, Sales and Marketing with BFSI, telecom, auto and FMCG brands. Shilpi is an alumnus of Amity University and has completed special programs in leadership excellence and digital marketing from Harvard Business School and Northwestern University.

Phone No: 0124-4247797

ecleaders@airtelbank.com